Gimme a C-L-O-T-U-R-E: What is slated to be the penultimate day of debate on whether to confirm Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court of the United States is scheduled to begin on the floor of the U.S. Senate at 10 a.m. today. You can view the proceedings live, online via C-SPAN2 (RealPlayer required). A cloture vote on the debate is scheduled to occur at 4:30 p.m. today, and the U.S. Senate’s up-or-down vote on the nomination is scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow.
Don’t spend it all in one place: The lawyer who emerged last week from a Tenth Circuit en banc ruling as the proud recipient of a $1.50 attorney’s fee award under the federal civil rights act has graciously agreed to take part in a written interview to be posted online here at “How Appealing” in the near future. Even better, he will participate entirely free of charge.
Aside from the obvious questions — how many hours did you work, and what effective hourly rate does the $1.50 attorney’s fee produce?; do you anticipate that the defendant will voluntarily pay your $1.50 attorney’s fee, or will additional litigation be required?; how do you plan on spending the fee, or perhaps you will invest it tax-deferred as part of your retirement savings?; had you known when a federal judge asked you to accept this matter that your fee if you won would be $1.50, would you have done anything differently? — are there any other questions that I should be asking the interviewee? If so, please feel free to forward them to me via email.
Last week’s Tenth Circuit en banc ruling is here, and that court’s earlier three-judge panel ruling in the case is here.
The new “Wonkette” has arrived: From Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, to the Newark, New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office, to full-time gossip blogger. Given this downward spiral, can homelessness be very far away? Which, of course, is just another way of saying that one of the two new writers for “Wonkette” is the author of “Underneath Their Robes.”
“Redact This: Preserving Secrets on Appeal in the Digital Age.” The brand-new installment of my weekly “On Appeal” column for law.com can be accessed here. Here’s law.com’s summary: “As many have learned to their dismay, Internet anonymity is much harder to attain than it appears. In this time of executive branch eavesdropping on overseas communications and Department of Justice subpoenas to Internet search providers, some may wonder where the judicial branch stands on keeping secrets online. The answer is generally encouraging, although some courts and electronic filers could be more attuned to the privacy issues that electronic filing presents.”
“Blawg Review #42”: Available here at the blog “Cyberlaw Central.”
“Obama joins filibuster bid against Alito; But senator criticizes tactic, says it will fail”: The Chicago Tribune contains this article today.
And The Washington Times reports today that “Obama criticizes party for strategy.”
“Agreeing on 12 Enron jurors no easy feat; Lawyers, set to start eliminating candidates today, will be drawn to different qualities”: This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle, along with an article headlined “For key players, a day of work, worship; Media set up outside the courthouse as legal teams make final preparations.”
The Los Angeles Times today contains articles headlined “Trial of Former Enron Chiefs Starts Today; Jury selection begins in the federal fraud case against Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling” and “Trader’s Effect Felt Powerfully in the West.”
USA Today contains articles headlined “Enron’s legacy: Scandal marked turning point for business world; Impact felt in energy trading, lawsuits, corporate governance and regulations” and “Unindicted, yet under a shadow; Ex-Enron officials in legal twilight zone.” In addition, an editorial is entitled “Spinning justice’s scales.”
CNN.com provides a report headlined “Enron’s Lay: Trial will turn out ‘fine’; Jury selection set to begin after defense requests denied.”
The Chicago Tribune yesterday published an article headlined “Explainer for Enron: Indicted exec Jeffrey Skilling hires Chicago lawyer Daniel Fischel as an expert witness.”
The Baltimore Sun yesterday published an article headlined “Lessons unclear after fall of Enron; Some companies and investors still tread risky paths.”
And today in The New York Times, Law Professor Henry T.C. Hu has an op-ed entitled “Enron Happens.”
“Sign Here: Presidential signing statements are more than just executive branch lunacy.” Dahlia Lithwick has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate today.
“O’Connor era ends at court, continues in law; History-making tenure marked by shifts and surprises”: Joan Biskupic has this article today in USA Today. The newspaper also contains a related item headlined “Her opinions set today’s standards.”
“Al Qaeda Detainee’s Mysterious Release; Moroccan Spoke Of Aiding Bin Laden During 2001 Escape”: The Washington Post contains this article today.
“A Law Clerk Hiring Update: Justice Kennedy’s Swinging Clerks!” This post appears today at “Underneath Their Robes.”
In the February 6, 2006 issue of The New Yorker: Malcolm Gladwell has an article titled “Troublemakers: What pit bulls can teach us about profiling.”
And Mimi Swartz has a Talk of the Town essay entitled “Pencils Up! Enron Multiple Choice.”
“The Supreme Court’s Surprisingly Unanimous Abortion Decision: A Parting Gift for Justice O’Connor?” FindLaw commentator Michael C. Dorf has this essay today.
